


Be Kind, Don't Rewind

by CoramDeo



Series: Best Friends Forever [2]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Gen, Platonic Relationships, Post-Undertale Pacifist Route, Pre-Undertale, Sibling Bonding, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-05
Updated: 2021-02-05
Packaged: 2021-03-16 13:54:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,687
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29208453
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CoramDeo/pseuds/CoramDeo
Summary: Old recordings can provide a window to days long since past, to both heart-warming memories and devastating events.   There is wisdom to be gained by learning from the tragic mistakes of the past.  But what happens when the wrong lessons are learned?
Series: Best Friends Forever [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1591552
Comments: 14
Kudos: 23
Collections: Fanfiction From The Chara Defense Squad





	Be Kind, Don't Rewind

**Author's Note:**

> As always, many thanks go to [TakaiWolf](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TakaiWolf/) for her editing prowess!

In a quiet and lonely room, the static on a television provided the only source of light, casting a dim, flickering glow on the face of a child. They were sitting on their knees, close to the television set, watching. The only sound, other than the hum of a distant fan, was the whirring motor of an ancient VCR as it ejected a featureless black tape labeled simply "#2". The child leaned forward and pulled the tape out of the machine. They smiled as they slid it back into its worn box. There had been nothing to watch on it, technically. Just as with the previous tape, it contained only one recording and had only audio - no visuals at all. They would have liked to see a video of the excited, beaming mother as she told her mom-jokes earlier. They wished they could have seen the excited boy who had apparently tried to record his sister making a creepy face, but it wouldn't have helped; he would have been out of view, behind the camera, even if he _had_ remembered to remove the lens cap. Still, it would have been nice to have a glimpse into that world of long ago. 

A world that had been happy, bright, and full of joy and love. 

Until… 

_"I found these weird tapes."  
"I don't feel like Asgore's watched them…"  
"I don't think he should." _

Next to the TV was a neat stack of three other video cassettes, each labeled with a number. On the floor was tape #1, played a few minutes earlier. The child put the box they were holding onto the floor, then took the next box from the stack. The machine accepted the tape with a whir and the flickering static went black. Once again there was no picture, but the same cheerful voice came through the speakers. 

_"Now you're smiling for noooo reason! Hee hee hee."_

_"What? Oh yeah, I remember. When we tried to make butterscotch pie for Dad, right?"_

The cheerfulness faded. 

_"Those flowers got him really sick. I felt so bad."_

_"Um, anyway, where are you going with this?"_

_"Huh? Turn off the camera...?"_

With a soft clunk, the machine stopped. But the child didn't move. They remained where they were, staring into the static, their smile gone, a despondent look now on their face. Slowly they bowed their head and rubbed the corners of their eyes. Tape #3 was ejected and added to the pile on the floor. 

Reluctantly, the child reached up and took the next one from the stack. But they hesitated, lost in thought, tapping their fingers on the box. Their eyes drifted up to the shelves filled with similar boxes next to the TV. They replaced the tape on the stack and stood up to look at the shelves more closely. The light wasn't strong enough to easily read the spines, but the child eventually picked out a gaudy one whose label of "ADVENTURES!" made it stand out. The box, decorated with colorful felt stars, was old and torn at the edges, and the child handled it gingerly as they pulled the tape out and pressed it into the VCR. The white static on the TV was replaced with a grainy view of a bedroom. 

The camera was sitting on the floor, pointing at a faded and frayed carpet. Standing on the carpet was a plastic wrestler, four inches tall and wearing a permanent sneer. Next to him was a man in combat fatigues, holding a bazooka. On the ground between them was a stuffed sack with a large letter "G" on it, roughly the same height as the two action figures. 

The picture on the TV shook for a moment as the camera was readjusted, then a white furry hand reached in from the side and picked up the wrestler, who bounced as he addressed his companion. 

"Ha, ha, ha!" said a menacing child's voice. "We've done it, Captain Kablammo. We've robbed the Snowville bank of all their gold! The monsters were defenseless against us!" His bent arm was twisted upwards to highlight his massive biceps. The wrestler returned to the floor, and a moment later the fuzzy white hand picked up the military figure. 

"That's right, Facebuster," said the voice, a little strained now that it was an octave lower, "the monsters down here were no match for our human powers." The soldier poked the bag with his plastic arms. "Now we can use our secret exit to leave the Caverns and take all this gold back to our base. Ha, ha, ha!" 

Facebuster reacted by toppling onto his back, possibly due to the carpet being scrunched up as Captain Kablammo did a celebratory dance. There was a grunt of annoyance from somewhere, and the picture shook briefly before going black as the recording stopped. A second later, though, it was back, with both criminals standing next to the sack. 

"Hold it right there!" commanded an offscreen voice. Swooping in from above, another figure landed. It was hard to make out the details of the new arrival, except that he was soft and floppy, wrapped entirely in purple, had plush horns sewn onto his head, and was roughly three times the size of the plastic criminals he was now confronting. 

"Oh no!" shouted one of the unmoving action figures. "It's Aerizel!" 

The stuffed purple monster jiggled as he pointed his arm at the men. "That gold belongs to the people of Snowville! You two humans are going to jail. Surrender now! And tell me where the secret exit to the Caverns is, or I'll use my mind-reading machine on you to find out." 

"I'll stop him! Take this, Aerizel!" shouted Facebuster, who was propelled towards the stuffed monster in the grip of another furry hand. "Hi-ya!" The wrestler twisted in the air to execute a flying double kick at the face of Aerizel. 

At the last moment, the purple hero dodged the attack and swung his floppy arm to pummel the wrestler. 

"Aaaaah!" screamed Facebuster as he twisted end-over-end to finally fall rigidly on his face onto the carpet. 

"You'll pay for that, Aerizel!" yelled the soldier, swinging his plastic bazooka up. "Bwoooooosh!" 

Aerizel leapt into the air as the invisible rocket flew under him and performed a midair flip, landing with a crushing stomp on the soldier who crumpled to the ground on his back, one leg sticking straight up. 

"Gaaaaaaaaah!" bellowed the captain. 

After that pummeling, neither he nor the prone wrestler offered any more resistance, and soon Aerizel had them pinned to his chest under his floppy arms. He hauled them off to jail, somewhere off-screen, then flew back to announce that he would be returning the sack of gold to the good monsters of Snowville. 

The screen went black after that for a few moments, and then another recording began. The child settled in for the next adventure, and for several minutes they watched story after story, a wistful smile on their face. 

"My sensors tell me that this mountain is full of gold!" The purple-clad monster was being held on a table this time, in what appeared to be a living room. The rounded ends of the monster's plush arms had no fingers or claws, but a small, pointed stick had been carefully tied to each one with thread. 

Standing next to the monster was a plastic anime girl, with pigtails down to her waist, wearing a long sailor dress and holding a sword that was roughly the same size as her. In front of them was a towering, carefully constructed wall of cushions. A large plastic spider lurked menacingly behind it. The plush monster poked the cushions. 

"If we smash our way into it, we'll probably find a thousand pieces of gold we can bring back to the royal treasury. What do you thi-" 

There was a pause, and then the white hand put the stuffed monster down. The screen jiggled briefly as someone shook the table getting up. A moment later, in the living room behind the table, a furry goat monster walked into view. 

The child watching the television froze. 

"Hey, Chara?" called the monster. "Do you want to come and do Ky-Ra? I'm filming the story of the mountain full of treas-" 

The image stopped moving. The child pulled their finger back from the "Pause" button and stared. The goat monster stood there, looking somewhere beyond the living room with bright green eyes, his soft muzzle open as he called to someone. Even in the graininess of the old tape, the excitement and enthusiasm shining on his face was clear. 

_Asriel Dreemurr, prince of monsters._

_Chara, the broken and helpless girl he had rescued when she fell into the Underground. A girl who would become his sister and best friend._

_A friendship that would carry the bright promise that the animosity between men and monsters could be overcome._

_Asriel and Chara Dreemurr, the hope of all monsterkind._

_Until… one day…_

For several minutes the child stared. Their smile had vanished, and there was a slight tremor to their breath. After a while, they slowly reached forward and pressed "Play". 

"-reasure and gold, and we're just about to smash our way into it!" called the monster child. 

A distant voice answered indistinctly. 

"Aww, c'mon, it'll be fun!" the furry boy pleaded. "I don't have to use the Chaos Sabers. You could just punch your way into it if you want. It's a pillow mountain, so it'll look cool when you do!" 

The voice replied again, more insistent this time. The child leaned forward and turned the volume up as high as it could go to pick out snatches of sentences. 

"NO, Asriel… have time to play… besides… really not that… too busy... later." 

The boy's shoulders slumped. 

"Ok, Chara. Maybe later." 

He turned and slowly walked out of view. The picture shook slightly, then the purple stuffed monster was picked up from the table, followed by the spider and the girl with the sword. The mountain of cushions was knocked onto the floor. After a lingering shot of the scattered pillows, the picture went black. 

The digital counter on the VCR continued to advance, but the screen stayed black. The child stared at the darkness and waited, but no more adventures appeared. A few moments later the motor stopped as the tape came to an end. 

Sniffling quietly, the child ejected the tape and slid it gently, almost reverently, back into its cheerful box and placed it on the floor. Reluctantly, they looked at the stack next to the TV, then reached out and took tape #4 into their hands. 

The tears had welled up enough to begin falling down their cheeks. Once again, their resolve failed them. For a moment they looked back up at the shelf, hoping to find something - anything - that could distract them. Something that could delay what had to happen next. Couldn't it wait? Couldn't it wait just a little longer? But with a shuddering breath, they lowered their head to look at the tape they were holding. 

They had no choice, really. The make-believe adventures had ended long ago. What they held in their hands was reality. This was truth that had to be faced. 

With a whir, the machine sucked in tape #4 and began playing it. Once again, the flickering gray static was replaced by a black image. 

Even without visuals, it wasn't hard to picture the fluffy monster boy talking to his sister. Except his voice no longer held the sound of excitement or anticipation. It was the sound of fear. The playful eyes of the boy adventurer would now be filled with tears, as Chara criticized him. And berated him. And pushed him. And pushed. _And pushed_. 

Memories of monsters lining the path through New Home, telling the story of a heartbreaking loss, filled the child's mind. Their words snapped together like jigsaw pieces with the frightened voice coming from the TV. 

_"I... I don't like this idea, Chara."_

_Then… one day… the human became very ill._

_"Wh… what? N-no, I'm not… big kids don't cry"_

_The next day… the human died._

_No! I'd never doubt you, Chara. Never!_

Tears were now streaming down the child's face. They reached out a hand for just a moment but stopped before it touched the VCR's controls. Instead, they sat back, pulled their knees up to their chest, and buried their face as they took shaky, stuttering breaths. The voice didn't stop. The memories wouldn't stop. 

_"Y... yeah! We'll be strong! We'll free everyone."_

_Asriel, wracked with grief, absorbed the human's SOUL.  
He carried the human's body into the sunset. _

_"I'll go get the flowers."_

_The humans attacked him with everything they had.  
Wounded, Asriel stumbled home.  
He entered the castle and collapsed.  
  
_

The child broke down. Quiet sobs shook their body as waves of grief swept over them - the injustice, the tragedy, the tragic misunderstanding, the senseless loss. The death of an innocent child, who just wanted to be a friend to his sister. The meaninglessness of the sacrifice. No… far worse than that; the utter darkness and ruin that came from the sacrifice that was supposed to bring joy and freedom. The sheer stupidity of the plan. The cruelty of the girl who manipulated her kind-hearted brother and sent him to his own slaughter. The girl he had thought was his best friend, who had repaid his kindness by killing him, destroying the lives of his parents, and plunging the kingdom into despair. The girl. The girl. _Chara_. The demon who destroyed everything she touched. 

For a long while the child remained slumped on the floor, shaking, wishing they could just leave and never return. And yet… 

…and yet, one more tape remained to be played. The final act of the tragedy. It had to be played. It had to. 

The cassette in the machine was ejected and discarded onto the floor. Trembling, the child reached for the last tape sitting next to the TV. They stared at the "#5" written on it - so simple, and yet so menacing. It took all their determination to go through with it, but after a struggle they finally shoved the tape into the machine and pressed "Play", then immediately pulled away, buried their head between their knees, and closed their eyes. 

The recording began with the usual shuffling noises, as the camera was moved into place. Silence followed for a few moments. Then the voice of the monster boy came out of the TV. 

"Are you ready?" 

"Yeah, go ahead," a new voice responded. 

The child's head snapped up. 

The TV was showing a backyard. The picture was crisp and saturated with color, much clearer than the grainy scenes on the videotape of adventures. Part of a swing set was visible on the left side of the screen, and a row of thick trees swayed gently in the background. Above the trees, several wispy clouds streaked across a blue sky. Standing in the center of the screen, rubbing his furry hands together, was Asriel. With his striped green shirt, he looked almost identical to how he had looked back when he was filming adventures with action figures. Except he was now slightly older. And a bit taller. And standing in a backyard under a blue sky. 

The girl sitting on the floor stared at the TV in astonishment. She picked up the empty tape box and looked at it in confusion. 

"Ok! Uh… hi, Chara!" 

The girl's wide eyes snapped back to the TV. The boy gave a shy wave to the camera. "It's me, Asriel!" Asriel added helpfully. "Your best friend!" 

"Wait, what does that make me?" asked the other unseen voice, presumably the one holding the camera. 

"Oh… um… You're my very best brother!" 

"Oh. Wow," said the monotone voice. "Your best brother. What an incredible honor." 

The goat prince narrowed his eyes and pointed a finger at the person behind the camera. "Hush!" A small beam of rainbow light and dancing stars burst from his finger and sailed over the top of the screen. 

"Aaaaah! Stop!" 

"Anyway," said Asriel, rolling his eyes as he put his hand down, "like I was saying, it's me, Asriel." 

"We've established that, Azzy." 

_"ANYWAY"_ , the goat boy said loudly, "me and Frisk are making a video for you that we're going to put on a videotape. And if you're watching it now… I mean, I guess you must be watching it… or, I mean you WILL be watching it, after we finish this video and get it off the phone and figure out how to put it onto the VCR, which I guess we did since you're watching it now… I mean later, after we do it, but NOW for you… 

"I think we've got it, Azzy, thanks." 

"Yeah, sorry, anyway, we wanted to make a video for you that we thought would be nice! And fun! Instead of…" 

The boy began to fidget with his shirt. His eyes flicked to the side. 

"…you know, that other stuff. I hope that's OK! That we're taping over what was already on that tape? I figure that you watch it sometimes, and… I guess I hope it's OK that we're doing this because… I dunno, it doesn't seem like… those tapes are good for you? I mean… uh…" the boy gestured helplessly and looked above the camera again. 

"Hang on, hang on." The picture shook wildly as the camera was propped up on a table and adjusted, while Asriel watched on. A moment later, another boy dressed in blue and purple joined him. 

"It's like this, Chara," he said. "Azzy and I were in your room trying to find _The Book of Atrus_ -" 

"You said it was OK if I borrowed it!" added the prince quickly. 

"-yeah, so, we couldn't find it on the bookshelves, so we were looking on the shelves in the closet and… well… I found these videotapes. And when I saw that they were just labeled 1 through 5… I remembered that I had seen them before. And I knew what was on them." 

Asriel had lowered his head and was kneading his paws again. "And Frisk was all upset, and I asked him what they were, and he didn't really want to tell me, but then he did, and… well, I ended up watching them too." 

"I didn't want you to!" Frisk protested. 

"But I wanted to, because I needed to know," insisted Asriel, looking at his brother. He turned back to the camera. "Because I know how you think, Chara. I figured you were probably… not being nice to yourself." 

The girl sitting on the floor stared at the furry boy on screen. Asriel was twisting his own ear, obviously terribly embarrassed. Frisk put an arm around him. 

"I know…" started Asriel, as he fumbled for words. "I know that you still blame yourself for what happened to us all those years ago. Even though it turned out OK, and Frisk saved us and stuff, and Mom and Dad are OK now, I know you still do it. And Frisk and I figured you had these tapes in your closet so you can pull them out and watch them again and… get sad." 

The girl's mouth had fallen open. Without breaking her gaze, she felt behind her for the sofa and pulled herself up onto it. 

Frisk spoke up again. "I wanted to take the tapes outside and stomp them to pieces, but Azzy wouldn't let me." 

Asriel shook his head. 

"He said that was something you ought to decide for yourself, rather than us. Sounds dumb to me, since most of them are terrible, but he started crying." 

"HEY!" Asriel smacked his brother's shoulder with the back of his paw. 

Frisk grinned, but before he could reply, a gust of wind whipped through the boys' hair and clothes. Slowly the picture began to tilt upwards. 

"Aaah, the phone!" said Frisk, just before he and Asriel were replaced with an image of the sky. 

After a moment, the picture shook as the phone was picked up and pointed again at Asriel, now standing alone. 

"So, yeah, Chara, Frisk is right - those tapes are bad for you. You probably watch them because… because you don't think you deserve to be happy. You feel like you need to remember… all that stuff that happened. I know that you still beat yourself up, even though nobody's angry at you. We're all free now, and Mom and Dad are back together, and we're all OK. I'm OK, too! I'm not mad at you at all! I love you!" 

Once again, tears streamed down the girl's face. 

"Awwwwww, that's sweet." said the unseen boy. 

"HUSH, Frisk! Anyway, since Frisk wanted to smash the tapes and I thought that should be your decision, we decided to compromise. Tape 5 is just plain awful, so we've decided to redo it into something that will be much better. So first of all is just me, telling you that I love you! And that I know we both made some bad mistakes in the past, and did some stuff we never should have done, but that I forgive you for anything there needs to be forgiven. I know you didn't want to hurt anyone, and it was just a… really bad plan… and yeah, things were bad for a while… but everyone has forgiven you! And we all love you now, and nobody's mad, and you don't have to keep reminding yourself of all that, because it's over now." 

"Yeah," added the off-camera voice, "and if it hadn't happened, I wouldn't have ever met you or Azzy, so that was a good thing!" 

Asriel's forehead wrinkled. "That's really weird, Frisk." 

"Hey, it's the truth." 

"Well, anyway, that's what I wanted to tell you, Chara. You're a great sister, and still my best friend forever," he held up a golden locket on a chain around his neck, "and I hope you'll always believe it." 

Without noticing, the girl slid her hand up to the chain around her own neck, to the simple locket that had comforted her again and again. 

"And if you ever forget, you can just watch this video again. And now it's Frisk's turn!" 

"Yeah, I've got something too!" 

Asriel jogged towards the camera, and the TV was filled with noise and shaking as the phone changed hands. When it settled down, Frisk was standing by the swing set again, bouncing in excitement. He looked off to his left. "Is it still going? Don't point it at the thing yet!" 

"Yeah, the red light's still flashing!" said the monster's voice. Even as he spoke, the scene suddenly shifted. Instead of Frisk, the picture now showed Asriel's face, as seen from slightly below his muzzle. He didn't look down; his green eyes were fixed on the scene in front of him. 

"Ok… here it is! Surprise!" called out Frisk. 

The camera turned slightly, still pointing at Asriel. 

"This may look like an ordinary sparkler and fireworks display," continued the unseen Frisk, "but it's been specially designed to cheer you up! Doctor Alphys helped me with the magic so it will… well, you'll see." 

"Light it, Frisk!" said the excited goat boy. "I wanna see what you did!" 

"Ok, here we go in 3, 2, 1…" 

There was a clicking sound as a lighter was tried repeatedly. "Come on…" Frisk muttered. Asriel was frozen in rapt attention. Then, "Got it! Here it goes!" 

For a few seconds there was a hissing and sparking sound. Suddenly the TV erupted with the sound of pops, screeches, whistles, and bangs. Asriel's mouth fell open in excitement and delight. A spectrum of colors and lights played across his face. 

"Wow, that is so cool!" he shouted over the noise, jiggling the phone a bit. 

"The pinwheel rocket is just about to go off - follow it!" Frisk yelled back. 

A large _BOOM_ came out of the TV. The perspective on Asriel's face changed to a top-down view as he lifted the phone, his eyes following some incredible spectacle as it rose into the air. 

Another _BOOM_ came from the distance, and the prince screwed his eyes shut as an intense burst of light bathed his face. When he opened them, they were full of wonder as he turned his head back and forth to the sky. 

"Wow, you did an entire message with magic! That is so sweet - Chara's going to love it!" 

"That was awesome!" Frisk called out as the noise slowly died away. "Did you get all that?" 

"Yeah! I sure-" As the phone swung back down, Asriel finally looked directly at the camera. A confused look spread over his face, and he tilted his head and blinked several times. Slowly, the confusion was replaced with a dawning look of horror. "I… uh… I think-" 

"How'd the recording turn out?" said Frisk, now much closer. 

"I… um, Frisk… I think I might've accidentally had it on the front-facing camera." 

"…You _what?"_

The goat prince looked like he wanted to crawl into a hole. His words started coming out faster. "I must've accidentally hit the little thing in the corner that flipped the camera, so it was pointing at me instead! I… I… don't think I got a video of the fireworks." 

The picture on the TV bumped around, then the face of a mop-haired boy, now blackened with soot, pushed in beside Asriel, who sheepishly stepped back. The boy took the phone and stared into the camera in disbelief. 

"Asriel… you're telling me you took a video of your own _face_ for two minutes, and you didn't even _notice?_ " 

Asriel's eyes were panicked "I was so busy watching the fireworks go off that I forgot to look down at the phone!" 

Even though Frisk's eyes were inscrutable, as usual, he looked to the girl on the sofa like someone who was about to gain a hefty amount of EXP. The furry boy in the background looked like he was about to cry. 

"Frisk, I'm… I'm really sor-" 

The picture spun wildly, accompanied by shuffling noises, before coming to focus on the yard again. 

"Alright, come here," commanded the boy. 

A surprised bleat followed. The next moment, a determined Frisk stomped into the frame holding a very worried goat boy. He stopped and turned to the camera, still holding Asriel in a death grip. 

"Sorry, Chara. Turns out you didn't get to see the fireworks display after all. You'll have to take my word for it that it was really cool." Frisk let Asriel go and turned to glare at him. 

The monster seemed to shrink under his gaze. "I-I-". He started twisting an ear in his paw. 

"You might think that Asriel's an incredible dope when it comes to cameras," Frisk said, turning back to the camera. Unexpectedly, his expression relaxed, and a hint of a smile came onto his face. "But that's not true. In fact, it's really not Asriel's fault that we didn't get a video of the fireworks." 

Confusion, mixed with hopefulness, crept onto Asriel's face. "It… it wasn't?" 

"Nope!" Frisk was fully smiling now as he flung an arm around the furry boy's shoulders. "Asriel didn't do anything wrong." 

"Oh!" The relief on Asriel's face was obvious. "Oh, thanks Frisk! Was the phone not working right or some-?" 

"It was YOUR FAULT!" yelled Frisk, clamping the boy into a headlock. Ignoring the strangled thrashing under his arm, he turned back to the camera. "This isn't Asriel at all! This is really our arch-nemesis Lezirea! He's imprisoned Azzy somewhere and is trying to sabotage our attempt to make you feel better!" 

"What??" squawked out Asriel hoarsely. "I'm not Lezirea! I'm always Aeriz-" 

"SO NOW I MUST DEFEAT HIM!" yelled Frisk. 

With another surprised bleat, Asriel toppled onto the ground as Frisk bumped him in the back of the knees. The goat boy barely had time to roll over before his brother dove on top of him, grabbed a floppy ear in each hand, and began whacking him in the face with them. 

"What have you done with Aerizel? Release him or face my wrath!" 

"Aaaaaah, stop Friaaaaaahhhhh!!" 

"That's Prince Fahrask to you, Lezirea! Release my brother at once!" 

The girl on the sofa watched with great interest as the ear flogging continued. 

Asriel squirmed on the ground, kicking and flailing, sending rainbow bursts out of his hands in random directions. Finally, he managed to buck Frisk off him and scrambled to his feet in a flash. He pointed heroically at Frisk, who was picking himself up from the ground. In the top corner of the video, a red battery symbol began to flash. 

"Aha, now your lies are exposed! I am the real Aerizel, and you are a phony Fahrask! And I will give my sister a cosmic show of my own. Behold my true power!" The prince cackled as he fired off a huge burst of stars into the air. 

"Oh no you don't! Take THIS, Lezirea!" 

Frisk leapt up and swung a stick he had found at Asriel. It bounced off his side. Asriel ignored him and kept firing stars, spinning his arms above him to send them up in all directions. Frisk gamely continued to pummel the magical goat with his stick. 

"Ha!" Asriel said, finally dropping his hands. "Doesn't hurt a bit! You don't want to hurt me, so you can't!" He stuck his tongue out at his brother and began to dance in front of him. "You don't want to hurt me, you don't want to hurrrrt meeeeeee." He blew a raspberry at Frisk. 

Frisk shook his stick, but before he could resume the battle, the sound of a car door slamming interrupted the action. Another voice sounded off in the distance. 

“Hey, Mom and I just got home and what in the _world_ was all that noise out here? I saw Dad on the back porch videoing something. What are you guys doing?” 

Two heads swiveled to the left. The sound of running footsteps could be heard. 

"Oh, are you doing an adventure?" called the girl's voice. "Who's the bad guy?" 

Frisk opened his mouth but Asriel was quicker. He grabbed Frisk by the arm. 

"Ky-Ra, help me! This monster has stolen Fahrask's identity with magic and is trying to destroy me!" 

"Oh no, you don't!" yelled the voice. 

"No! That's Lezi-" Frisk tried to say, when a green and yellow blur flew in from the left and plowed into him, causing the two of them to topple off the screen to the right. Asriel watched interestedly at the scuffling on the ground next to him. Bits of dirt and leaves floated up at the bottom of the screen. 

"An evil human! How dare you attack Aerizel! You must be destroyed!" announced the newcomer. 

"Um, Ky-Ra, I think if he's using magic, he's probably a monster," offered Asriel. 

"Or an evil human wizard! What is your plan? Are you trying to make a new barrier? What have you done with Fahrask? Answer me!!" 

From the muffled protests off-camera, it sounded like Chara's hands were pressed over Frisk's mouth as she continued to demand that he confess his crimes and/or surrender. Asriel picked up the discarded stick and tested its battle-readiness by swinging it a few times, as the one-sided scuffle and associated yelling continued unseen on the ground. 

The small battery symbol flashed a final time, then the screen went dark. 

The stunned girl on the sofa continued to watch the black image on the screen for another few minutes. A smile began to spread on her face. She slid off the sofa and walked over to the TV. Kneeling down, she collected the tapes from the floor. The star-decorated box went back on the shelf. The other four discarded tapes were collected and placed into a grocery bag the girl had used to carry them into the living room. Only then did she press the "Stop" button and eject the tape. In the faint light of the static-filled TV, she looked down at tape #5 in her hand and smiled even bigger, before sliding it back into its box. 

Without warning, the room was flooded with light. Chara squinted and held her arm up to her face as she turned in the direction of the person who had come into the living room. 

"Oh! It's you!" said her furry brother. He was dressed in light blue pajamas and a dark green bathrobe and was carrying a stuffed purple monster. He padded over to her on his soft feet. 

"I heard some noise down here and figured I'd come- oh!" He caught sight of the flickering screen. "Were you watching TV?" 

He spotted the grocery bag and the tape still in her hand. His eyes widened. His forehead furrowed with worry, but almost immediately his eyebrows went up and a look of excitement came into his eyes. "You were watching _those_ tapes? Did you get to number-" 

The question was cut off by a squawk as the goat boy was suddenly engulfed in a fierce hug. His own arms came up automatically to hug the girl who was squeezing him tightly. Abruptly she let him go, and gently bopped him on the muzzle, producing a soft bleat. 

"You're such a dork, Ree! Here." She shoved the bag of videotapes into his paw. "Give 'em to Frisk if you want. I don't need them. Goodnight, bro." She slid past the stunned prince out of the living room and started up the stairs. "Turn off the TV and the lights when you're done, OK?" she called over shoulder. 

At the top of the stairs, she looked back and smiled at him fondly, then headed off to her room carrying the final videotape. The prince was left standing in the living room with a plush toy and a grocery bag, staring after her with an affectionate, if slightly confused, expression on his face. 

**Author's Note:**

> Readers of my "Best Friends Forever" series may notice that I jammed this one right into the middle of the series, since this comes chronologically before _Better Than New_. Here, in the early days of her return, Chara is still beating herself up, but she's improved a great deal by the time we get to the next story. Hope the series re-ordering isn't too confusing.
> 
> And if you'd like to hear me reading this story to my children (without first telling them that I wrote it!), [here you go](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLXwT0bUpV8).
> 
> Thank you for reading! If you'd care to leave a comment, I'd love to hear what you think.


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